Temporal variability of local abundance, sex ratio and activity in the Sardinian chalk hill blue butterfly

Casula, Paolo; Nichols, James D.

doi:10.1007/s00442-003-1426-x

Cited by 11 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…In turn, non-dispersal mortality, which translates into life expectancy of adult butterflies living in their habitat patches, was most likely shaped by casespecific factors. We believe that the underlying reason was the variation in weather patterns among the investigated metapopulations, which is a typical driver of butterfly life expectancy (Casula and Nichols 2003;Nowicki et al 2009;Matter et al 2011). Interestingly, however, distinctively short adult life expectancies were recorded in earlier studies on M. teleius and M. nausithous in the region (Nowicki et al 2005a, b), which implies that they may either be heritable traits or reflect less favourable climatic conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Butterfly dispersal in inhospitable matrix: rare, risky, but long-distance

et al. 2013

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Metapopulation models typically assume that suitable habitats occupied by local populations and unsuitable matrix separating them form a 'blackand-white' landscape mosaic, in which dispersal is primarily determined by the spatial configuration of habitat patches. In reality, however, the matrix composition is also likely to influence dispersal. Using intensive mark-recapture surveys we investigated inter-patch movements in Maculinea (Phengaris) nausithous and M. teleius occurring sympatrically in six metapopulations. Three of these metapopulations had the matrix dominated by forest, an inhospitable environment for grassland butterflies, whereas in the remaining three the matrix was mostly composed of open environments. Dispersal parameters derived with the Virtual Migration model revealed significant differences between both groups of metapopulations. Both species had a lower propensity to emigrate from their natal habitat patches, and they suffered substantially higher dispersal mortality in the metapopulations with forest matrix. On the other hand, mean dispersal distances were roughly an order of magnitude longer in forest matrix as compared with open landscapes (ca. 500-1,500 vs. 100-200 m). Our results suggest that inhospitable forest matrix induces strong selection against dispersal, leading to a reduced emigration rate. At the same time, the selection may promote emigrants with good dispersal abilities, which are able to perform long-distance movements. Thus, while it is generally believed that a matrix 401-412 DOI 10.1007/s10980-013-9971-0 structurally similar to the habitat of a species should improve the functional connectivity of habitat patches, our findings imply that this may not necessarily be the case.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Butterfly dispersal in inhospitable matrix: rare, risky, but long-distance

et al. 2013

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“…Only in the Přelouč metapopulation the largest patches were also of the best quality, which discourages emigration and promotes immigration. In turn, adult mortality within patches is most likely shaped by weather as frequently found in butterflies (Schtickzelle et al 2002;Casula and Nichols 2003;Nowicki et al 2009;Matter et al 2011). Similarly, while it is tempting to view lower within-patch mortality rate of M. arion females from Val Ferret (which were the most dispersive of all groups investigated in our study) as a manifestation of a trade-off between longevity and dispersal abilities (Hanski et al 2006), this finding should also be attributed to weather conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Selection on dispersal in isolated butterfly metapopulations

et al. 2013

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In most metapopulation models dispersal is assumed to be a fixed species-specific trait, but in reality dispersal abilities are highly sensitive to various selective pressures. Strict isolation of a metapopulation, which precludes any influx of immigrants (and their genes) from outside and makes it impossible for emigrants to reach other localities with suitable habitat, thus reducing fitness benefits of long-distance dispersal to zero, may be expected to impose strong selection against dispersal. We tested the above prediction by comparing dispersal parameters derived with the Virtual Migration model for isolated and non-isolated metapopulations of two species of large blue Maculinea (= Phengaris) butterflies, surveyed with intensive mark-recapture. Mortality during dispersal was found to be twice (in M. teleius) to five times higher (in M. arion) in isolated metapopulations. Isolation also resulted in significantly reduced dispersal distances in isolated metapopulations, with the effect being particularly strong in M. arion females. Apart from its evolutionary and ecological consequences, dispersal depression in isolated butterfly metapopulations implied by our results has serious conservation implications. It provides a clear argument against using parameter values obtained in a different environmental setting in modelling applications, e.g., Population Viability Analyses or environmental impact assessment. Furthermore, it underlines the importance of establishing well-connected networks of suitable habitats prior to species release in areas where reintroductions are planned.

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“…For the multistate analysis, instead, data from secondary periods were pooled for each primary period. Differences in sampling intervals arose from non-optimal weather conditions: with cloudy or cool weather (temperature below 20°C), the butterfly capture rate becomes very low (Casula and Nichols 2003). Therefore, marking took place only on sunny and warm days.…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Casula and Nichols 2003;Kendall et al 1997). That is, during a day (primary sampling period), each patch was sampled from two to four times (secondary sampling periods).…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating hypotheses about dispersal in a vulnerable butterfly

Casula

2005

Ecological Research

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Sound management of species requires reliable estimates of dispersal. Indeed, dispersal of individuals among local populations is a key factor in the biology and persistence of local populations and metapopulations. Here, the small-scale dispersal pattern of a vulnerable species, the endemic Sardinian chalk hill blue butterfly, was studied by applying capture-recapture multistate models and a model selection based on AIC values. Model parameters were survival, capture and movement probabilities. The model selection showed that (a) survival probability of individuals varied between sexes, (b) capture probability varied between sexes and among patches, and (c) movement probability varied with direction. The probability of movement among adjacent local populations was generally low and ranged from 0.009 to 0.212. Movement probabilities were subsequently modeled using data on interpatch distance and donor patch population size or area. The ultrastructural ''biology-based'' models turned out to be the most appropriate models for inference, showing that dispersal decreases with increasing interpatch distance and increasing donor patch population size or area, and suggesting that butterfly dispersal is affected by patch geometry and the presence of conspecifics. The application of multistate models, the model selection approach, and ultrastructural modeling allowed testing the validity of some general hypotheses related to dispersal in metapopulations and helped elucidate the butterfly small-scale dispersal pattern.

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Temporal variability of local abundance, sex ratio and activity in the Sardinian chalk hill blue butterfly

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

Butterfly dispersal in inhospitable matrix: rare, risky, but long-distance

Butterfly dispersal in inhospitable matrix: rare, risky, but long-distance

Selection on dispersal in isolated butterfly metapopulations

Evaluating hypotheses about dispersal in a vulnerable butterfly

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